Minasa Hawaii

This is a clean little shop, well designed. Reminded me of the tidy small restaurants in Japan. The chef has Pinoy roots, adding to the wonderful diversity of Pacific Islander cuisine in Hawaii, but with his own twist. Bruno Mars, if you’re ever in town, go show some love to this spot. Some faves from our meal: -Calimansi refresher, wonderful palette cleansing tartness -Lechon fries…couldn’t stop eating. You’ll see why. Order it and thank me later. Be warned: You’re gonna have to loosen your belt loop one notch afterwards. -Lumpia, a.k.a. fried egg rolls -Excellent house-made variety of pickles Just a heads-up: If you’re visiting, it’s on that side of town where it’d do you good to not act like an entitled tourist. Good manners go a long way around these parts. Keep up the good work, peeps!

This was truly a hidden gem. The food was absolutely delicious. The atmosphere was cozy and had great music. Everything was put together with intention. The decor and aesthetic of the place was thoughtfully crafted and the presentation of the food was very artistic.

We asked Minasa to be our wedding caterers for a bigger party, but once we realized we wanted something more intimate - we decided to elope and book out the restaurant for our immediate ohana. Minasa made our dreams come true (and everything and more) for a Kamayan Feast experience. I always dreamed of having an ancestrally rooted dinner that was delicious and fun. They completely transformed their restaurant into a beautiful cozy atmosphere, DIY'd our ancestral altar with photos, hierlooms, and items we left for them, and the food was out of this world. They customized everything from the menu to the atmosphere. It's been a month since we had our pre-wedding dinner and our families are still talking about how delicious and beautiful everything was. What was most important was the love that both Chef, his spouse Ann, and their team have for their craft and their customers. We didn't even feel like customers - that evening we were all family. We love that they provide internship opportunities for students as well and that they got to be a part of our special evening, too. Mahalo nui / Salamat po to the Minasa team. We are forever grateful to have this memory with our family. We love you!